I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and this was huge when it happened. I was 14 or so when it happened and I remember the phone just ringing off the hook as my folks and others were trying to figure out who they knew that had died. There were so many people from the area down there that many had a connection to someone. It was not a fun time.

In addidtion, my family had property in Mendocino county and so did the Peoples Temple. The temple made some effort (I don't remember how hard they tried) to do what they did in Guyana in northern California. If I remember correctly, the residents of the area kind of moved them along.

The same thing happened in the same area with the "Moonies" in the mid to late 70's. Not the violence, just an attempt to build a commune.

The History Channel had a phenomenal documentary on this a year or so ago, and MSNBC had one this weekend. Lots of interviews with the few survivors just telling their stories, including Jim Jones' son (he was in another part of the country and knew his father was nuts). Just absolutely spellbinding.

The CNN show was phenomenal. It focused on the survivors, but had all the information leading up to the sucides. Then it went on to talk about what the survivors had been doing since. Pretty emotional stuff.

The CNN show was phenomenal. It focused on the survivors, but had all the information leading up to the sucides. Then it went on to talk about what the survivors had been doing since. Pretty emotional stuff.